Exclusive: Sarah Michelle Gellar talks books, baby and Buffy!

Professional TV junky Deanna Barnert covers all corner of Tinseltown but good television is her passion. Visiting sets, interviewing industry players and critiquing the final product are all in a day's work, as is losing an evening — or ...

SMG shares her Joy of Reading

Sarah Michelle Gellar has teamed up with the Nestle Share the Joy of Reading Program to benefit Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) and remind kids that hitting the books can be fun. When Gellar visited Los Angeles' historic Central Library May 10, SheKnows caught up with the mom, who dished on her love of reading and fave kid books, as well as her daughter with Freddie Prinze Jr and what she thinks of the upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer big screen reboot.

"Reading has really shaped my imagination, my creative life. It allows you all of these different worlds. To me, sharing that joy is the greatest pleasure."

Sarah Michelle Gellar video exclusive!

In this SheKnows exclusive video, Gellar talks about why reading matters to her and to our country, the difficult decision she faced in choosing a book for her audience of three to five year olds and more.

After you watch the clip, be sure to read the short Q&A below!

Sarah Michelle Gellar Q&A

Sarah Michelle Gellar reveals how she'd feel if her daughter with Freddie Prinze Jr, Charlotte, decided to go into the family business, grimaces over the Buffy the Vampire Slayer remake in the works and, of course, talks a bit more about books.

SheKnows: What's your secret to pulling it together to put on a good show for the kids when you're sick?

Sarah Michelle Gellar: It's so easy. [Coughs] As I hack it up! Yeah, maybe it's breathier and faster if it would be if I had air in my lungs, but reading is my favorite thing.

SheKnows: Do you pull on your acting skills when you're reading to Charlotte?

Sarah Michelle Gellar: I love to make a book come alive and watch her digest it and get excited about certain parts. It's mind-blowing. It's how you watch their minds grow.

SheKnows: Will she have the patience to sit through today's reading, since your audience is a few years ahead of her?

Sarah Michelle Gellar: She'll sit for a story. She sits for long books. It always surprises me. She goes to preschool and the very first day of reading, they read as short a book with as few words as possible and the kids could barely sit still. Now that they're a bit older, that book comes out and those kids run up and sit down. Each one wants to be closer to the book than the next and each one wants to turn the page. You just watch the love of reading grow.

SheKnows: You mentioned in the video that Charlotte likes the makeup chair: Did she also inherit the acting bug from you and daddy Freddy Prinze Jr?

Sarah Michelle Gellar: God, I hope not [laughs]!

SheKnows: How would you feel if she said, "Mama, I want to go into the family business?"

Sarah Michelle Gellar: Luckily, she doesn't have that many words yet, to be able to say that. [Laughs] I will always encourage imaginative play. There's lots of ways to do that: local productions, school productions and so many different artistic ways. I will foster that and when she's an adult, she can make her own decisions.

SheKnows: What's the story on your thriller pilot, Ringer, which you were shooting in New York just last month?

Sarah Michelle Gellar: Your guess is as good as mine!

SheKnows: We can't let you go without asking how you feel about the big Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie remake. What's your take?

Sarah Michelle Gellar: [Cringes] No Joss Whedon, no way... They already made that movie.